KUWAIT CITY, March 28: The parliamentary Finance and Economic Affairs Committee will next Sunday discuss the proposed increase of child allowance in the presence of the Finance Minister Anas Saleh and officials of the Public Authority for Social Security (PASS), parliamentary sources said. The meeting will be looking at government’s memo presented to the parliament recently that rejected the lawmaker’s proposals on child allowance based upon its implication on the state budget. In the memo, the government stated the cost of the proposed increment of KD75 for three children and KD 50 for the other four children is KD 149 million annually, while it will cost the government KD 177 million if the proposal involves four children. It pointed out that KD195 million will be spent annually if KD 75 is approved for five children and KD 127 million if all seven children are paid KD 65 each. According to sources, some MPs in the committee want to vote on the proposed child allowance of KD 100 or a minimum of KD 75-whether it is accepted or rejected by government, as the parliament has given the government adequate time to provide an alternative solution to no avail.

Sources indicated the MPs are concerned that next Sunday’s meeting may experience lack of quorum, as it happened in the previous meeting. However, they are optimistic the issue will be discussed in the parliament session-with or without the report of the Finance Committee. They accused the chairman of the committee Faisal Al-Shaya of backing government’s point of view “so we are working to holdup the subject until the end of the current term, despite the National Assembly has set April 1 to vote on the law”. Meanwhile, fear of the government rejecting the law in case it is approved by the parliament will not be an obstacle for the members to wait and issue a new deadline for the Finance Committee, they said. They are of the view that the law must be approved to set the government and its supporters to their responsibilities toward the people.

Earlier, Rapporteur of the Finance Committee MP Mohammed Al-Jabri announced postponing until next Sunday discussion of the Amendment Bill to B.O.T Law after the previous meeting was called off due to lack of quorum. He stated the committee will be discussing at next Sunday’s meeting the proposed increase of child allowance as a prelude to prepare and forward report to the National Assembly, stressing the committee has yet to formally receive any response from the government on the proposals. Meanwhile, MP Askar Al-Enezi presented a proposal calling on the authority in charge of the environmental situation in the country to introduce programs and modern equipment for waste disposal, as the current method of dumping waste violates the law.

He suggested the new system should exploit waste product to generate electricity as done in the modern countries. Also, he proposed the establishment of a national joint project between the government and private sector to collect and recycle e-waste and in a sophisticated and special manner. Al-Enezi explained that Kuwait faces serious environmental threat due to lack of genuine follow-up on exploiting garbage in the modern scientific way.

He stressed that wrong disposal of chemicals and other waste products release toxic gases which are harmful to the environment. He added e-waste poses environmental and health hazards through the accumulation of garbage and difficulty in disposing off or recycling some materials, given that these waste products contain heavy toxic metals such as cadmium, lithium, lead and zinc that cause defects in cell growth and diseases.

It is also the major cause of heart disease, and blood vessel and brain disorders. In another development, MP Mohammed Al-Jalal proposed the country must continue paying allowances to students after their graduation until they get the right job. Al-Jalal commended the State for strenuous efforts it’s exerting to raise the level of education and active role it’s playing in the development of the country through material aid it provides to each university student at the cost of KD 200 monthly until they have graduated. He suggested the State should continue this financial obligation until the graduate student is hired for the right job.